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vendredi 16 septembre 2022

These are the best weather apps and widgets for Android: Today Weather, AccuWeather, Overdrop, and more!

As smartphones have become ubiquitous, weather apps have taken the place of weather forecasters. Sure, you can still find forecasts on TV news, but weather apps are like having a meteorologist in your own hand. There are a lot of weather apps and widgets available for Android, but not all of them are that good. So we’ve selected the best weather apps and widgets you can download right now on your new Android phone or tablet.

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AccuWeather

AccuWeather AccuWeather Maps AccuWeather Forecast AccuWeather News

AccuWeather is perhaps the most prominent name in this list, and it’s even used as a weather data source by many of the aforementioned apps. It’s also one of the most downloaded weather apps on the Google Play store. Its new interface is clean and provides hyperlocal and accurate weather information in an easy-to-read manner.

You’ll get today’s weather data right on the app’s homepage. Additionally, hourly forecasts for the next 72 hours, daily forecasts for the next 45 days, and weather maps are also available in the app. Moreover, the AccuWeather app provides weather news to keep you appraised of the latest happenings. Four widget options are also present with different designs.

AccuWeather is free to download and use with ads; however, you can remove the ads by making an in-app purchase for one year. The annual subscription doesn’t renew automatically.

AccuWeather: Weather Radar (Free, Google Play) →

1Weather

1Weather 1Weather Home 1Weather News 1Weather Forecast

1Weather is another popular weather app with over 50 million downloads. It offers a lot of weather information in different tabs, but the most useful bit – today’s weather – is present right on the app’s homescreen. You’ll also get hourly forecasts for the next 48 hours and daily forecasts for the next ten days. Weather maps, as well as 1Weather’s own video content around the weather, are also available on the app. Moreover, you’ll get severe weather alerts and several theming options.

A total of 12 widget options are present with different designs and sizes. The only problem we noticed with the app was the full-page ads that randomly show up and can be annoying. The app is free to download and use with ads, but you can remove ads with the Pro subscription; that’s a one-time purchase.

1Weather Forecasts & Radar (Free, Google Play) →

Overdrop

Overdrop main screen with white theme Overdrop homescreen in dark mode Overdrop themes Overdrop weather widgets

Overdrop is one of the best-looking weather apps on the Play Store. From the very first moment you open the app, you’ll be captivated by its eye-catching visuals and icons. You can customize the look and style with seven beautifully designed themes, and there are over 50 home screen widgets that look absolutely stunning. Beyond the looks and beauty, Overdrop is a fantastic weather app. Overdrop lets you pick from four weather forecast providers, including Dark Sky Weather, AccuWeather, WeatherBit, and OpenWeatherMap, unlike other weather apps that don’t allow you to choose the source of your choice.

The app provides a detailed overview of the weather forecast and weather data. These include the current temperature with “feels like,” wind speed, rain prediction, snow, the UV index, humidity, visibility, and cloud cover. To help you plan ahead, Ovedrop gives you forecasts for the next seven days. The app also displays a persistent notification in the status bar so you can quickly glance at current weather data without opening the app. You can customize the notification’s appearance, position, background, and color.

The basic version of Overdrop is free and ad-supported. You’ll need to pay for the Pro subscription if you want to remove ads, unlock additional themes and widgets, 48-hour forecast, and more weather providers.

Overdrop - Weather & Widgets (Free, Google Play) →

Today Weather

Today Weather Today Weather Forecast Today Weather Sidebar Today Weather Widgets

Today Weather is another beautiful and elegant weather app. It displays the weather information in a clean format that’s easy to read and understand. You get access to the same kind of weather data as most other apps in this list, like information about temperature, humidity, UV index, visibility, dew point, and pressure. Additionally, the app gives hourly forecasts for the next 24 hours and daily forecasts for 10 days.

Moreover, you can get information about air quality, sun and moon times, and wind. Weather maps are also available, but the detailed view is limited to premium subscribers. Today Weather has a lot of weather data sources to choose from, including its own weather data, and some of them are limited to premium subscribers. The app will also offer severe weather alerts as well as alerts for when rain and snow are approaching.

The Today Weather app is free to download and use but includes advertisements. You can get a premium subscription to remove ads, get all data sources, and have full access to weather maps. The membership can be bought on a six-month, annual, or forever basis. There are over 20 widget options in Today Weather, with different functionality and size. The widget selection of the app is one of the best we’ve seen in a weather app.

Today Weather: Powered by NOAA (Free, Google Play) →

Weawow Weather

Weawow Weather Weawow Weather Widgets Weawow Weather Forecast Weawow Weather Data

Weawow Weather is a beautiful weather app that’s free of advertisements. It provides detailed weather forecasts for up to 10 days. You’ll also find details about temperatures, the probability of rain, humidity, dew point, air quality, wind speed, UV index, and much more. The app covers worldwide locations, and has seven weather data providers, including MET Norway, Weatherbit, Open Weather Map, AccuWeather, and Foreca. The last two are limited to the people who have donated to the app.

You can set up weather alerts and notifications to get timely information. Additionally, Weawow Weather supports dark mode, and there are 11 widget options with different looks and sizes. Moreover, the app is completely free. You can, however, donate to support its development.

Weather & Widget - Weawow (Free, Google Play) →

Weather Underground

Weather Underground Weather Underground Maps Weather Underground Home Weather Underground Heat Maps

From the house of IBM, Weather Underground is a well-organized, clean weather app that offers pretty much everything you would want from a weather app. It comes with features like maps with sophisticated weather visualizations, severe weather alerts, and hyper-local forecasts. The app provides hourly as well as daily forecasts for up to 15 days (10 days without the premium subscription). Additionally, you’ll get details about the air quality and sun and moon times.

Weather Underground supports dark mode as well as multiple map types. It also comes with a single widget. The app is free to download and use with ads, but you can get a premium subscription on a monthly or annual basis to remove ads and get forecasts for up to 15 days.

Weather data & microclimate : (Free, Google Play) →

Weather & Clock Widget

Weather & Clock Widget Weather & Clock Widget Options Weather & Clock Widget Home Weather & Clock Widget Forecast

The Weather & Clock Widget is another weather widget app for Android, but unlike the WeatherBug widget, it comes as a barebones app. However, if you only want widgets, you can just ignore the app apart from the initial setup. There are a total of 25 widget options with different designs and sizes. You only get two weather data sources, which may not be enough to get accurate information for everyone around the world.

Additionally, the app offers weather alerts as well as the hourly weather forecast for the next 60 hours and daily forecasts for ten days. The app is free to download and use with ads. There’s also a premium version for those of you who want to remove ads, but there’s no in-app purchase in the free app to remove the ads.

Weather & Clock Widget (Free, Google Play) →

The Weather Channel

The Weather Channel The Weather Channel Maps The Weather Channel Forecast The Weather Channel Conditions

The Weather Channel is another great weather app from IBM, and it provides more features than the Weather Underground. It’s also one of the most downloaded weather apps in the Google Play store. With the app, you can see live radar updates and get severe weather alerts, weather maps, daily forecasts for up to 15 days, and hourly forecasts. You also get seasonal details like Heat Index, Mosquito Index, Sweat Index, Fog Index, and Umbrella Index, which can be very useful.

Additionally, the Weather Channel provides information about pollen and mold in your area, how the running conditions are, and the air quality details. You get six widget options with varying levels of detail. The Weather Channel is free to download and use, but there are ads. You can get the premium pro subscription to remove ads and get 192 hours of detailed forecast information. There are monthly and annual subscription options.

The Weather Channel - Radar (Free, Google Play) →

YoWindow Awesome Weather

YoWindow Awesome Weather Widget YoWindow Awesome Weather Home YoWindow Awesome Weather Landscape

Awesome Weather from YoWindow is an interesting weather app for Android. It shows the weather at your location in a live landscape, complete with sounds. Ten landscape options are available in case you prefer one over the other. You can even create your own landscapes. In terms of the weather data, the app gets its information from a variety of sources, including the National Weather Service (NWS), Aerthe is the weather, Foreca (nowcasting), yr.no (met.no), METAR, and Open Weather Map. You’ll be able to check forecasts for up to 14 days.

The YoWindow Awesome Weather app offers six widget options as well as ten live wallpapers showing weather in your area. Additionally, you get an alarm clock that wakes you up to the sounds of nature, a weather screensaver, and weather maps. The radar and weather maps can be tried for five days, after which you’ll need to purchase the full version.

The app is free with advertisements; however, you can get the full version to get rid of the ads and remove all other limits. The full version can be purchased for a one time payment, monthly subscription, or yearly subscription.

YoWindow Weather and wallpaper (Free, Google Play) →

Windy.com Weather

Windy Windy Maps Windy Rader Windy Forecast

Windy’s official weather app offers far more detailed information than you’ll find on a typical weather app. For the same reason, it can also be overwhelming to regular people, who don’t need or want professional-grade data. However, if you’re a weather geek, this app will be right up your alley. The app offers forecast data, based on all leading models, including ECMWF, GFS, ICON, and NAM.

You’ll also get weather maps for everything from wind and rain to CAPE Index and pressure. Additionally, the app provides weather data for over 1,500 paragliding spots as well as wind and wave forecasts for kiting and surf spots. Moreover, the app offers three widgets. All in all, there is plenty of weather data in the app.

The Windy app is free to download and use; however, you’ll need a premium subscription for some of the weather data. The premium subscription can be bought for just one year or as an annual subscription.

Windy.com - Weather Forecast (Free, Google Play) →

Geometric Weather

Geometric Weather Geometric Weather Forecast Geometric Weather Data Geometric Weather Dark Mode

Geometric Weather is one of the relatively newer apps on Android, but it already has a lot of fans. The app sports a clean and elegant design. You get access to hourly and daily weather forecasts for up to 15 days. It gives users two global weather data source choices, and three for regional data. The usual weather data details like temperature, air quality, wind, UV index, humidity, atmospheric pressure, visibility, dew point, and cloud cover are available as well.

Additionally, Geometric Weather supports dark mode and comes with a weather live wallpaper as well as 11 widget options. It is free to download and use. The best part? There are zero ads and no in-app purchases.

Geometric Weather (Free, Google Play) →

RadarScope

RadarScope RadarScope Maps RadarScope Data RadarScope Options

If you are looking to delve deeper into the weather data, RadarScope is perfect. It provides specialized radar data that’ll be appreciated by weather geeks and meteorologists. You can view NEXRAD Level 3 and super-resolution radar data. The app also offers warning information about tornados, severe thunderstorms, and flash floods, using data from the US National Weather Service.

It uses information from a number of radar sites around the world, including North America, Japan, Korea, Australia, and Germany. The app also keeps on adding new radar sites for more data. Frankly, there’s no better app for weather-related radar data on Android. It’s important to note here that RadarScope doesn’t offer your typical weather forecast unless you can use the radar data to forecast the weather yourself.

RadarScope is a paid app and comes with optional subscriptions for some of the data. It’s also only available in select markets.

RadarScope ($9.99, Google Play) →

These are some of the best weather apps and widgets on Android. Some of the honorable mentions include Flowx, Yahoo Weather, and Appy Weather. Which weather app do you use? Do you think we missed any great weather apps or widgets? Let us know in the comments section.

Meanwhile, if you are looking for more amazing apps for Android, we’ve selected the overall best Android apps, the best messaging apps, and the best apps for kids.

The post These are the best weather apps and widgets for Android: Today Weather, AccuWeather, Overdrop, and more! appeared first on XDA.



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These are the best Galaxy Watch 5 Pro bands, cases, and screen protectors to buy in 2022

Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch 5 series brings subtle changes and improvements to the already excellent Galaxy Watch 4 series. The new watches have a slightly different look and feel thanks to some improved materials including the sapphire screens. There is a lot to like about the new smartwatches but it’s a shame that the bands included with the new watches are just decent at best. They may not even give you a good fit if you happen to have small wrists. Thankfully, you don’t have to stick with the bands that are included with the watch.

The Galaxy Watch 5 and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro both support standard 20mm watch bands. These bands are readily available on the market and a lot of them often carry an affordable price tag. If you’re looking to pick up some new or spare bands for your Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, then you’ve come to the right page. Let’s take a look at some of the best Galaxy Watch 5 Pro bands that you can buy on the market right now. We’ve also included some cases and screen protectors along with the bands, so be sure to check them out too:

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Best Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro bands

We’ve split the bands into different categories based on the styling and build materials to make it easier for you to explore different options and find the right one.

Simple Silicone and Rubber Bands

Let’s take a quick look at some of the simple silicone and rubber watch bands for the Galaxy Watch 5 and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. These bands are perfect for everyday use and workouts.

    Galaxy Watch Sport band

    Official sport band from Samsung

    Samsung's Galaxy Watch Sports bands go well its new Galaxy Watch 5 series. These simple bands are great for those who want to buy a simple band as a backup option. They tend to be a bit more expensive than some other third-party options that are available on the market, but they'll definitely last you for a long time.
    Galaxy Watch Extreme Sport band

    For those with an active lifestyle

    This one's very similar to the simple Galaxy Watch Sports that we just saw, but the Extreme sports band come with a double-toothed design for a secure fit. We recommend picking these ones over the regular Galaxy Watch Sports band if you happen to have an active lifestyle.
    Yeejok silicone band

    Affordable silicone band

    These affordable silicone bands are great to stock up on if you need additional bands as replacement. They're available in a bunch of different colors to choose from and they're a lot cheaper compared to the official silicone bands sold by Samsung.
    Wristology 20mm rubber band

    Simple and comfortable

    The Wristology rubber straps, as you can see, are simple-looking bands that are perfectly suitable for everyday use. You can pick them up in a bunch of different colors and switch them up on the daily as they're very easy to use.
    DaQuin Nylon band

    Nylon band

    Nylon bands are a great alternative to silicon bands for smartwatches as they're quite comfortable for everyday use. They're soft and breathable, so you can wear from for your workouts. These Nylon bands also come with sticky velcro for ease of use.
    TRA Breathable silicon band

    Breathable band

    These silicon bands have multiple perforations that allow for air to circulate through the band. This makes it more breathable and perfect for workouts than a regular silicon band. They're also available in a bunch of different colors, so you can also switch them up on the daily.

Leather Bands

Leather bands help put together a classy and sophisticated look with your watch. They may not be ideal for everyday use depending on your lifestyle, so we recommend picking these up for special occasions.

    Classic brown leather strap

    Leather strap with stitches

    If you're looking to buy a simple leather band for your Galaxy Watch 5 Pro then look no further than this classic brown leather strap. This band, as you can see, has white-colored stitching along the edges, giving it a very unique look.
    GEAK Slim strap

    Slim leather strap

    Those looking to swap out their big and bulky leather band for something that looks more elegant can check out the GEAK slim strap. It's much slimmer than the traditional bands and it also comes with a stainless steel buckle for a classy look.
    Black leather strap

    Stealthy black look

    It's hard to go wrong with a classic black-colored leather strap, so we think this is definitely worth picking up for your Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. It comes with matching black-colored stitches for a cleaner look overall.

Metallic bands

Here are some great options to consider if you like pairing your smartwatch with a metallic band:

    Milanese loop

    Classy and formal look

    The metallic Milanese loop bands are extremely popular so you may have heard about them in the past. We think they're worth picking up for the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro as they give a classy and formal look.
    Spigen metallic band

    Premium looks

    We recommend picking up the Spigen metallic strap if you are in the market for a premium-looking metallic band in black color. This particular band is also available in gold and silver, so be sure to pick those up if black doesn't suit your style.
    Metal band with diamonds

    Perfect match for jewelry

    This rose gold metallic band for the Galaxy Watch 5 and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, as you can see, comes with studded diamonds. One of the best things about this strap is that you can also get it in black, silver, and bright gold finishes.

Best Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro cases

We recommend picking up a good quality case if you want to add some protection to your watch. There are a ton of different Galaxy Watch 5 Pro cases to choose from but we think these are ones that are worth checking out:

Best Galaxy Watch 5 Pro cases

    Supcase Unicorn Beetle Pro

    Rugged Protection

    The SUPCASE UB Pro case offers excellent protection for your Galaxy Watch. It also vastly changes the overall look and feel of the watch and makes it look more like a G-Shock. It's not for everyone, but we think it's ideal for those who happen to have an active lifestyle.

    Promoted

    Caseology Vault

    Alternate best rugged case

    The Caseology Vault is relatively thicker than a lot of other Galaxy Watch 5 Pro cases on the market. It offers complete protection against accidental drops and bumps while adding a modern look to the watch. It has precise cutouts for all the buttons and you can even charge the watch while the case is on.
    Ringke Air Sports

    Soft Silicone case

    The Ringke Air Sports is good for those who only want to add a basic layer of protection to their watch. This particular case is available in black and matte clear finish, and neither of them adds too much bulk to your Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.

Best Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro screen protectors

Screen protectors can also add an additional layer of protection to your watch on top of the cases. Here are some good options to consider:

Best Galaxy Watch 5 Pro screen protectors

    Spigen Tempered glass screen protector

    Tempered glass protection

    The Spigen Tempered glass screen protector offers great protection to keep the display of your watch protected at all times. One of the best things about this particular screen protector is that it comes with an installation kit that makes it easier to install.
    Kimilar tempered glass screen protector

    Alternate best protection

    You get four tempered glass screen protectors for the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro with each purchase. This particular screen protector also comes with four wet and dry wipes, along with a suction cup for easy installation.
    Screen protector and case combo

    Affordable combo

    If you don't want to spend a lot of money on buying a case and a screen protector for your Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, then this is a solid combo to consider. You get a bunch of different colored cases with each pack, so you can easily things up to suit your attire of the day.

We’ll keep an eye on the market to see if any new accessories pop up for the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. In the meantime, let us know which strap or case are you planning to buy for your Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro smartwatch.

    Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro
    The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro brings some noteworthy improvements over the regular Galaxy Watch 5 including a bigger screen, better build quality, and longer battery life.

We’ve also rounded up some of the best Galaxy Watch 5 bands, cases, and screen protectors if you happen to buy the regular Watch 5 over the Pro. You can pick up the new watches as a part of a bundle with the new Galaxy Z Flip 4 and the Galaxy Z Fold 4 too if you’re in the market to buy new smartphones.

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jeudi 15 septembre 2022

These are the best Android phones you can buy for $300 or less in 2022

Just about everyone needs a smartphone in this day and age. Luckily, smartphone brands have become so skilled at making phones that they’re comfortably able to churn out some good budget phones. That’s right, there are some really good budget phones out there that don’t cost you an arm and a leg. In fact, there are more than a few budget options out there which is why we decided to shortlist some of the best Android phones under $300 for you. These handsets may not be a part of our best smartphone collection, but they’re still capable enough to handle most people’s daily needs.

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Best budget phone overall: Samsung Galaxy A23 5G

Samsung Galaxy A23 5G over a white colored background.

Samsung’s Galaxy A series offers a ton of budget-friendly phones for the masses. From entry-level affordable phones to heavy-hitting mid-rangers, the Galaxy A series has them all. The Galaxy A23 5G is one of the newest offerings in the series that’s perfect for this collection. It offers a decent set of internals with reliable software support for $300. It’ll also be available to purchase from various carriers in the US, making it more accessible.

The Galaxy A23 5G debuted as an LTE-only phone. The 5G version of the device didn’t go on sale until recently, so it’s still fresh off the line. Samsung is using a 6.6-inch FHD+ infinity-V LCD for this one with a resolution of 1080 x 2408 pixels. One of the best things about this particular display is that it supports up to 120Hz refresh rate. That makes it the only phone in this collection to have a 120Hz display. Just to put things into perspective, even the flagship Samsung devices like the Galaxy S22 come with a 120Hz display, so this is the highlight feature of this phone.

The Galaxy A23 5G is powered by the Snapdragon 695 SoC and can be purchased with up to 6GB of RAM. The base variant of the device only comes with 64GB of storage, though. That’s not particularly impressive but thankfully it supports expandable storage via a microSD card. You can add up to 1TB of storage to this phone, which is great.

Samsung has also packed a 5,000mAh battery inside this particular phone which means it should be able to last you for a long time between charges. And unlike the Moto G Power (2022), the Galaxy A23 5G supports 25W charging speeds to quickly top up the battery. It’s not as fast as the Nord N20 5G’s 33W charging, but 25W is still faster than what most phones offer in this price segment. Notably, you also get a side-mounted fingerprint scanner on this one which is considered to be more reliable.

As for the optics, Samsung is offering a quad-camera system on the Galaxy A23 5G. The setup includes a 50MP f/1.8 sensor, a 5MP ultra-wide camera, and two 2MP sensors for depth and macro shots. Selfies are handled by an 8MP sensor, which is on par with what you get on most budget devices. Lastly, it’s worth noting that the Galaxy A23 5G also has a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is still very important for phones in this price range.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy A23 5G looks like a solid budget phone. You get a lot of impressive features that are usually not offered by the phones in this segment. We’re talking about things like a 120Hz display, a massive 5,000mAh battery with 25W charging speeds, great software support, and more. And this phone, as we mentioned earlier, will also be available through all the major carriers in the US, making it more accessible to a lot of users. So if you’re in the US and you only have $300 to spend on a smartphone then we think you should spend it on this one.

    Samsung Galaxy A23 5G
    The Samsung Galaxy A23 5G is the latest budget device from Samsung, offering 5G and a well rounded experience at a price that doesn't hurt your wallet.

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Best budget phone for endurance: Moto G Power (2022)

Moto G Power fingerprint sensor and camera

The Moto G Power line-up, as you probably already know, is among the best in the business when it comes to battery life. Fortunately, they’re also quite affordable, making them perfect for this particular collection of phones. We decided to add the Moto G Power (2022) to this list because it costs less than $300 in the US, promises exceptional battery life, and it’s the newest phone in the lineup.

The Moto G Power (2022) comes with a 5,000mAh battery, which is bigger than what you get inside most Android phones out there. Pair a massive battery with less power-hungry parts like an HD+ display and a MediaTek Helio G37, you get a phone that can last for up to three days on a single charge with light usage. Of course, your mileage is bound to vary based on your usage pattern but it’s remarkably good.

The Moto G Power (2022) is also plenty capable for all practical purposes. The MediaTek Helio G37 may not be as powerful as the Snapdragon 662 SoC in the 2021 Moto G Power model, but it still performs well while consuming less power. It sports a 6.5-inch panel on the front with support for up to 90Hz refresh rate. You will, however, have to make peace with the fact that it peaks at 720p resolution.

One of the best things about the Moto G Power (2022) is that it comes with a microSD card slot that lets you expand the storage up to 1TB. You don’t get expandable storage on many smartphones these days, so this is definitely a welcomed addition.

What’s not so impressive about the Moto G Power (2022) is that it only supports 10W charging, meaning you may have to wait for up to two hours to fully charge its massive 5,000mAh battery. This is particularly disappointing because the outgoing 2021 model had support for 15W charging. We’re not entirely sure why Motorola decided to slow things down, but it definitely doesn’t look good on paper.

The Moto G Power (2022) sports three cameras at the back but we suggest you keep your expectations in check when it comes to the camera performance. As for the optics, we’re looking at a 50MP primary sensor that’s coupled with two separate 2MP sensors for depth and macro shots. The selfies are handled by an 8MP front-facing camera.

And lastly, it may be worth noting that this phone doesn’t have 5G support either, meaning you’re limited to LTE for connectivity. This isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker, especially for those looking to pick up a budget phone, but there are some other options out there that support 5G in this price range. All things considered, we think the Moto G Power (2022) is a great phone if you’re looking to buy a phone with remarkably good battery life. That’s the one thing it excels at and it might just be enough to win you over.

    Moto G Power (2022)
    The Moto G Power (2022) offers exceptional battery life of up to 3 days on a single charge. And the best part is that it's priced at just $150 right now.

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Best bang-for-your-buck phone: OnePlus Nord N20 5G

Blue phone on brown chair

The OnePlus Nord N10 reportedly sold well in the US, and it’s not hard to see why. It offered a solid smartphone experience for under $300 thanks to some impressive features including a 90Hz 1080p display, 5G support, a solid 64MP camera, and more. Well, the OnePlus Nord N20 5G is a pretty good successor that we think deserves a spot in this collection despite some questionable choices.

The first thing that you’ll notice about this phone is just how attractive it is. XDA’s Managing Editor Rich Woods described it as one of the most beautifully designed OnePlus phones and wished the OnePlus 10 Pro looked as good as this one does. That’s high praise for a phone that costs less than $300, so it should give you an idea of how good it looks. It also keeps the headphone jack which we think is still very much relevant in the budget space.

The OnePlus Nord N20 5G also offers impressive performance compared to a lot of other phones in this space. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 695 chipset, which is paired with 6GB LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB storage. It’s only a modest improvement over the Snapdragon 690-powered Nord N10, but that’s all you need to compete with other phones in this price range, really. We also like how OnePlus has retained the microSD card slot for expandable storage.

On the battery front, the Nord N20 features a 4,500mAh battery which can be fully charged in just about 70 minutes. The phone supports 33W SuperVOOC charging, which is impressive when you compare it against the likes of the Moto G Power (2022) which only supports a woeful 10W charging. It’s the fastest charging phone in this collection, so this is the one to get if value fast charging over anything else on a smartphone.

It is a budget phone after all, so the Nord N20 5G makes a few compromises to keep the price low. The cameras, for instance, need some work. It comes with a 64MP main sensor with an f/1.9 aperture along with two separate 2MP sensors to handle the depth and macro shots. These cameras aren’t going to impress you with their performance so keep your expectations in check. You might be able to get some decent shots from it for occasional social media posts, but that’s about it.

Overall, we think the OnePlus Nord N20 is a solid budget phone that gets a lot of things right. There’s not a lot to complain about if you learn to live with a 60Hz display and an average set of cameras. That’s not too bad because you can buy it for just $250 right now in the US. It also supports 5G, so we think it’s a solid alternative to a lot of other non-5G budget phones mentioned in this collection. The OnePlus Nord N20 5G checks a lot of the right boxes, and it offers great value for your money.

    OnePlus Nord N20 5G
    The OnePlus Nord N20 5G is a good successor to the Nord N10 that looks great both on paper as well as in real life.

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Best phone for stylus lovers: TCL Stylus 5G

TCL Stylus 5G on a white table with the stylus on the screen.

The Moto G Stylus enjoyed the prime position as one of the best budget phones to come with a stylus. But it has now been by the new TCL Stylus 5G. Motorola’s updated Moto G Stylus offers some impressive features too but it’s almost double the price, which means it longer belongs in this collection of the best Android phones under $300. TCL, on the other hand, offers a decent experience overall and it costs just a little over $250 in the US.

The stylus bundled with the TCL Stylus 5G is a passive one, meaning it doesn’t have a battery of its own, nor does it support Bluetooth. But as we mentioned in our TCL Stylus 5G review, it still works with minimal latency. TCL also bundles a bunch of apps that work well with the stylus. There’s the Nebo app which is essentially a handwriting recognition tool to transcribe your notes into copyable text. You also get the MyScript Calculator 2 app that takes handwritten calculations to give you the results.

You’ll also find it very comfortable to use the stylus on this phone’s 6.81-inch LCD panel. It may not be the brightest display on the market but it’s sharp enough for crisp and clear visuals, and it’ll let you navigate around the phone with the stylus. That’s what the experience is all about when it comes to this phone. You’re not going to notice any significant performance issues while using this particular phone on a day-to-day basis because it’s powered by a decently powerful Dimensity 700 SoC and comes with 4GB of RAM.

The overall performance of the phone is mostly on-par with a lot of other budget phones in this segment, so there’s not much to complain about. The same can be said about the battery life of this phone. It may not be on par with the big players in this space like the Moto G Power (2022) but it’ll get you through a day without any major issues. On the software side, it ships with Android 12 out of the box and it’s promised to get major OS updates until next year.

As for the optics, you get four cameras at the back which include a 50MP primary and a 5MP ultra-wide camera along with two 2MP sensors for depth and macro. That ultra-wide angle camera is a nice addition because most smartphones at this price seem to only have a primary and two sticker sensors for macro and depth. You should be able to get decent photos out of this phone both during the day and at night time.

There’s a lot to like about the TCL Stylus 5G and we think it offers a good set of features for its $258 price tag. It’s not particularly easy to bundle a stylus with a phone that costs less than $300, but TCL has done it. It’s also a pretty good phone overall, so be sure to check it out.

    TCL Stylus 5G
    The TCL Stylus 5G is a budget smartphone with a garaged stylus. It also has a nice screen, great software, and a decent camera. It is exactly $258 of smartphone.

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Best phones for those open to importing: POCO M4 Pro

It’s no secret that the US market doesn’t get nearly as many budget phones as the Asian or European markets do. If you’re open to the idea of importing a smartphone to the US, then it automatically unlocks a lot of options. The POCO M4 Pro is one such device that we think is worth considering if you don’t mind putting in a little more work to get it in the US.

The POCO M4 Pro that debuted in Europe earlier this year is essentially the global variant of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S with some minor changes and a fresh design. It’s amongst the best budget phones you can buy in Europe right now, as it offers a good set of features for the price. It features a 6.43-inch FHD+ 90Hz display on the front, meaning it’s better than a lot of budget phones in the US that only have a 60Hz panel.

As for the internals, you get a MediaTek Helio G96 chipset with up to 8GB of RAM. The device comes in two RAM/storage configurations, starting at 6GB RAM and 128GB storage and going up to 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. The Helio G96 is also a capable chip that should be able to keep the phone running for at least a few years before giving up.

One of the best things about this phone is that it comes with both a headphone jack and a microSD card slot for expandable storage. Both of these features, as we mentioned earlier, are still crucial to phones in this price segment, so they’re already better than a lot of budget options in the US. On the battery front, you get a 5,000mAh battery with support for up to 33W fast charging. The battery capacity and the charging speeds on this one are on par with what you get with the Nord N20 5G, which is one of the best phones that offers great value for money in this collection.

The POCO M4 Pro also gets a triple camera setup at the back which includes a 64MP main camera along with an 8MP ultra-wide and a 2MP macro sensor. Some other noteworthy features of the POCO M4 Pro include MIUI 12.5 software, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, an IR blaster, and more. The only downside to buying this phone is the fact that it’s not officially available in the US. That’s not necessarily a deal-breaker as long as you are open to importing a phone because there are plenty of importers out there to help you facilitate your purchase.

Even with the markup price to cover shipping and additional taxes, you’ll still be paying less than $300 for this phone. Alternatively, you can also consider buying the POCO X4 Pro which is available to purchase in the US right now for a little over $300. Both of these are great devices for the price and we think they’re worth considering if you don’t mind exploring phones other than the ones that are readily available.

    POCO M4 Pro
    The Samsung Galaxy A23 5G is the latest budget device from Samsung, offering 5G and a well-rounded experience at a price that doesn't hurt your wallet.

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Closing Thought

Well, that brings us to the end of this particular collection. There are a lot of budget phones on the market but not all of them are worth spending $300 on. You’re not going to get the fastest or most beautiful-looking phone in this price range, but we’ve managed to highlight some of the best options out there. Samsung’s Galaxy A23 5G is a great phone right now for under $300. But if you want something that looks a little bit better then we think you should consider buying the Nord N20 5G.

We’ve also added some interesting devices to the mix including the TCL Stylus 5G and the Moto G Power (2022), both of which are unique in their own ways. We’ll continue to keep an eye on the market and add more options to this list when they’re available. In the meantime, let us know your favorite budget Android phone by dropping a line in the comments below.

The post These are the best Android phones you can buy for $300 or less in 2022 appeared first on XDA.



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Does the Apple iPhone 14 series support 5G networks?

Apple launched the iPhone 14 series during its Far Out event. This time around, regular models barely got any attention from the company. They’re in many ways useless iterations of the iPhone 13. Meanwhile, the iPhone 14 Pro models received some of the biggest, most notable upgrades we’ve seen on an Apple phone in many years. These include the retirement of the classic notch in favor of a… smarter notch — the Dynamic Island. Additionally, an Always-On Display (AOD) feature makes a unique entrance. That’s not to mention the 48MP resolution bump for the Wide camera sensor and the all-new A16 Bionic chip. If you plan to buy an iPhone 14, you must be wondering — does it support 5G? While 5G is arguably a gimmick that probably most users don’t need, it still is of interest to many customers. Here’s what you should know about 5G support on the iPhone 14.

Complete Band support information for the iPhone 14 series

The iPhone 14 lineup is indeed compatible with 5G networks — assuming your carrier and data plan support it. The supported 5G bands depend on the region you’re purchasing the device from. Apple presents the complete band support information in a rather voluminous format, so we’ve simplified this information for you.

  • Common bands across all models and regions:
    • 5G: n1 (2100 MHz), n2 (1900 MHz), n3 (1800 MHz), n5 (850 MHz), n7 (2600 MHz), n8 (900 MHz), n12 (700 MHz), n20 (800 DD), n25 (1900 MHz), n26 (800 MHz), n28 (700 APT), n30 (2300 MHz), n38 (TD 2600), n40 (TD 2300), n41 (TD 2500), n48 (TD 3600), n66 (AWS-3), n70 (AWS-4), n77 (TD 3700), n78 (TD 3500), and n79 (TD 4700).
    • 4G: 1 (2100 MHz), 2 (1900 MHz), 3 (1800 MHz), 4 (AWS), 5 (850 MHz), 7 (2600 MHz), 8 (900 MHz), 12 (700 MHz), 13 (700c MHz), 17 (700b MHz), 18 (800 MHz), 19 (800 MHz), 20 (800 DD), 25 (1900 MHz), 26 (800 MHz), 28 (700 APT), 30 (2300 MHz), 32 (1500 L-band), 34 (TD 2000), 38 (TD 2600), 39 (TD 1900), 40 (TD 2300), 41 (TD 2500), 42 (TD 3500), 46 (TD Unlicensed), 48 (TD 3600), and 66 (AWS-3).
    • Note: These are the only bands available for China, Hong Kong, Macao, Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. There are no additional 4G or 5G bands available to these regions.

The above set of 4G and 5G bands are common to all regions. The below set of 4G and 5G bands are what you get over and above the common bands, depending on your region.

  • U.S. and Puerto Rico (Model A2650/A2651/A2649/A2632): Common Bands and these additional bands:
    • 5G: n14 (700 PS), n29 (700d MHz), n53 (TD 2500), n71 (600 MHz), n258 (26 GHz), n260 (39 GHz), and n261 (28 GHz).
    • 4G: 14 (700 PS), 29 (700d MHz), 53 (TD 2500), and 71 (600 MHz).
  • Canada, Japan, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia (Model A2889/A2893/A2881/A2885): Common Bands and these additional bands:
    • 5G: n14 (700 PS), n29 (700d MHz), n53 (TD 2500), and n71 (600 MHz).
    • 4G: 11 (1500 MHz), 14 (700 PS), 21 (1500 MHz), 29 (700d MHz), 53 (TD 2500), and 71 (600 MHz).
  • Rest of the world (A2890/A2894/A2882/A2886) including Australia, most of Europe, India, and the UK: Common Bands and these additional bands:
    • 5G: n53 (TD 2500).
    • 4G: 53 (TD 2500).

If your country hasn’t rolled out 5G support just yet (or you simply don’t care about it), then fear not. The iPhone 14 series supports 4G (LTE), too — not just 5G. So you can always fall back on that or choose to only use that in Cellular settings. Ultimately, 4G is already fast as-is for on-the-go streaming. The significant battery drain of 5G is for many people not worth it. What’s the point of having incredibly fast speeds if many users don’t actually take advantage of them?

    Apple iPhone 14
    The iPhone 14 retains most of its predecessor's specifications. It is A15-powered and runs iOS 16.
    Apple iPhone 14 Pro
    The iPhone 14 Pro replaces the notch with the Dynamic Island and supports the Always-On Display feature.

Make sure to check our list of best iPhone 14 cases on your way out. You wouldn’t want to crack the delicate glass back if you drop it.

Do you plan on using 5G networks on your iPhone 14? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Does the Apple iPhone 14 series support 5G networks? appeared first on XDA.



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